LSU’s 2026 schedule has plenty of land mines, but the one that may matter most early comes from a team that already put the Tigers in a hole last season.
After a trip to Oxford to face Ole Miss, LSU comes home to meet Texas A&M on September 26, and that rematch has the look of a real measuring-stick game. The Aggies beat LSU 49-25 a year ago, and they enter this season with plenty back from a team that spent much of last fall looking like a serious SEC threat.
Mike Elko’s group was rolling at 11-0 and had a clear path to the SEC championship game before the late-season stumble against Texas changed everything. Texas A&M then missed the conference title game and dropped a 10-3 decision to Miami in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
Even with that finish, the Aggies bring back 65 percent of their production from last season, and quarterback Marcel Reed is the centerpiece. Reed threw for 3,100 yards and 25 touchdowns in 2025, then added another layer with his legs by running for nearly 500 yards and six scores. Against LSU, he also piled up 108 rushing yards.
That dual-threat ability is exactly why Texas A&M can make life difficult for LSU’s defense. The Aggies were third in the SEC in rushing yards per game at 184.69, and they return leading rusher Reuben Owens. Jamarion Morrow is also back to add more pop in the backfield.
The one area that needs sorting out is up front. Texas A&M rebuilt its offensive line through the transfer portal and will have four new starters there.
For LSU, the home field helps, but this still shapes up as a brutal early test for Lane Kiffin’s retooled roster. The Tigers have plenty of new faces after a portal-heavy offseason, and if they’re going to announce themselves as a real SEC contender, they’ll have to handle a physical Texas A&M team that can grind the game down.
The expectation here is for a hard-fought, lower-scoring battle. Texas A&M’s defense is built to make things uncomfortable, and LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt will be under pressure to take care of the football.
If he does, LSU has a path to winning. But the bigger point is clear: last season’s Aggies weren’t a one-off. They’re still very much in the mix, and LSU will have to be sharp to protect its home field.
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The part fans will clock is the absence of new starting quarterback Sam Leavitt from the trip to Tampa. Leavitt has yet to speak publicly since arriving at LSU, so the wait for his first extended turn in front of the cameras will stretch a little longer, even as the Tigers head into one of the offseasons biggest SEC spotlight moments without their most closely watched newcomer. [Read more 🡒]
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The collaboration is set to reach beyond signage and promotions, too, with NIL support aimed at athletes from the state giving the deal a more personal edge for LSU fans. It also does not kick in right away, which makes the announcement feel like the start of a longer-term relationship rather than a quick branding splash, and that timeline leaves plenty of room for how the partnership will show up once the next phase arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Suddenly Face Real Pressure With Top Receiver Commit
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The longer this drags out, the more pressure builds on Texas to hold serve and on LSU to keep making itself impossible to ignore. Recruiting insiders think this could take time before it reaches a final answer, and the timing alone leaves plenty of room for momentum to shift. For LSU, that means the pursuit is still alive, and the next turn in Royals decision could end up saying plenty about where the Tigers stand in the race for elite wideout talent. [Read more 🡒]